ROSEMONT, Ill. – Eighteen Big Ten Conference men’s and women’s soccer students earned Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced Thursday. Of those students selected, 14 are women’s soccer standouts, while the other four are men’s soccer honorees.

On the women’s side, eight of the Big Ten’s 14 Academic All-District selections earned second-team honors from District 5, including four from Indiana — defender Caroline Dreher, midfielder Kayla Smith, and forwards Sydney Kilgore and Maya Piper. They are joined by Michigan defender Taylor Timko, Northwestern goalkeeper Lauren Clem, and Ohio State midfielder Nikki Walts and defender Morgan Wolcott, all of whom also earned second-team accolades.

Minnesota had three women’s soccer students earn first-team plaudits from District 6 — forward April Bockin, and midfielders Molly Fiedler and Emily Heslin. Penn State also had multiple first-team honorees, with midfielder Emily Ogle and forward Megan Schafer selected from District 1. Rounding out this year’s women’s Academic All-District contingent was Nebraska defender Alli Peterson, who was a second-team choice from District 7.

Michigan State had two of the Big Ten’s four men’s soccer Academic All-District selections, with defenders Brad Centala and Jimmy Fiscus chosen from District 5, along with Michigan midfielder Ivo Cerda. Wisconsin midfielder Noah Leibold was the other men’s soccer honoree, coming from District 6.

In order to be considered for Academic All-America and Academic All-District status, students must not only maintain a minimum 3.30 GPA, but must also be a starter or key reserve, competing in at least 50 percent of their school’s contests.